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The Expulsion of Civilians from Israeli-Occupied Lebanon

July 1, 1999

For more than a decade, Israel and its auxiliary Lebanese militia have been expelling innocent civilians from their homes and villages in south Lebanon, Human Rights Watch said today. In this report, Human Rights Watch says that entire families have been expelled from the occupied zone in a summary and often cruel manner, without due process law. The victims, who have included elderly men and women as well as children, have been forced to leave their homes and villages without any advance notice and were generally not permitted to bring any personal possessions with them.The expulsions are carried out in secrecy. Israel bears ultimate responsiblity for both its own actions and those of its proxy militia.Human Rights Watch called on the U.S. and the member states of the European Union to publicly condemn the expulsions, and to press Israel to allow the expelled Lebanese civilians to return to their homes and recover their property under safe conditions, free of any form of coercion or initimidation from occupation security authorities.